Astrophysics (Index)About

Jupiter

(largest planet in the solar system)

Jupiter is the largest planet in the solar system and the fifth outward from the Sun. Characteristics:

Jupiter has a surface feature called the Great Red Spot (GRS), a visible red region presumed to be a storm in its atmosphere; such a spot was first observed in 1665 and it has been continuously monitored since 1830, apparently a storm that lasts for centuries. Jupiter's moons include Callisto, Europa, Ganymede, and Io (the four known as the Galilean Moons). Since the late 19th century over 70 additional moons have been discovered as well as a ring system.

Jupiter's interior is of interest: it is presumed to be basically fluid, mostly metallic hydrogen, thus conductive, providing the material for a dynamo and magnetic field. The resulting strong magnetic field creates a substantial radiation belt (analogous to Earth's Van Allen belts) which emit microwave synchrotron radiation, allowing study of the belt, but also blocking microwave observation of the planet, and would significantly damage any space probe that were to remain in it. Whether Jupiter has a rocky core is of interest; some planet formation theories assume gas giants form around rocky cores, but analysis indicates all the transitions between Jupiter's internal layers are gradual, with no distinct boundaries.

Past and planned space missions to Jupiter include: Voyager, Galileo, Juno, JUICE, Europa Clipper, and Europa Lander.


The term Jupiter is also used to indicate a Jupiter-like extra-solar planet, often qualified, e.g., hot Jupiter.


(planet,solar system)
Further reading:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jupiter
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Exploration_of_Jupiter
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moons_of_Jupiter
https://solarsystem.nasa.gov/planets/jupiter/overview/
RedshiftParsecs
/Distance
Lightyears
/Lookback Years
  
~04.2AU~0lynearestJupiter
~06.2AU~0lyfurthestJupiter

Referenced by pages:
2M1207
51 Eridani b
51 Pegasi b (51 Peg b)
asteroid
asteroid belt
astronomical quantities
astronomical symbol
astronomical unit (AU)
atmosphere
Beta Pictoris b (β Pic b)
brown dwarf (BD)
Callisto
centaur
Ceres
comet
Comet Shoemaker-Levy 9
convection zone
crustal plates
dex
Einstein delay
equilibrium temperature (Teq)
escape velocity (Ve)
Europa
Europa Clipper
Europa Lander
extra-solar planet
failed binary
flyby
Galileo
Ganymede
gas giant
gas planet
giant planet
grand tack hypothesis
gravity sounding
Hadley cell
halo orbit
HAT-P-7b
HD 114762
HD 189733 b
HD 209458 b
HD 80606 b
helium rain
hot Jupiter (HJ)
HR 8799
ice
ice giant
inflated radii
Io
isothermal core
J2
jet stream
JUICE
Juno
Kelvin waves
Kelvin-Helmholtz instability (KHI)
Kelvin-Helmholtz mechanism (KH mechanism)
Kepler-1625b
Kepler-16b
Kirkwood gap
Lagrangian point
Laplace radius (rL)
late heavy bombardment (LHB)
LEDA
liquid planet
long-period comet
Lorentz force
Lucy
magnetic field
magnitude
mass
metal
metallic hydrogen
mixing ratio
moment of inertia factor
moon
Neptune
normal mode
obliquity
opposition
orbital resonance
orbital speed
planet
planet type
Pluto
polar cyclone
precession of the equinoxes
Psyche
pulsar timing array (PTA)
radiation belt
radiation zone
radio source (RS)
ring system
Roemer delay
rotation period
Scholz's Star
Schwarzschild radius (RS)
sedimentation
shepherd moon
snow line
solar day
solar mass (MSun)
solar system object (SSO)
SpeX
star
stellar flare
super-Earth
supercritical fluid (SCF)
superrotating wind
Taylor-Proudman theorem
tidal heating
tidal migration
Titius-Bode law
transit
twinkling
Ulysses
Uranus Orbiter and Probe
Van Allen belts
vortex
Voyager
WASP-12b
WASP-33b
WASP-43b
WASP-67b
WISE 0855-0714 (W0855)
XO-3b
zonal flow
zone

Index